Even losers’ rich credentials should be felt in Africa

Just after the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson election postponement at the AU Summit held in Kigali in July 2016, I wondered, tongue-in-cheek, whether second-generation gender bias had, in anyway, been at play. Of course, it wasn’t even remotely a factor. The notion of second-generation gender bias describes the situation whereby women deny or are unaware of having personally been victims of gender discrimination despite evidence to the contrary. Three candidates tussled it out during the Kigali Summit; former Ugandan vice president Specioza Wandira Kazibwe, Botswana’s foreign affairs minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and Equatorial Guinean foreign minister Agapito Mba Mokuy, the only man among the nominees. No clear winner emerged among them. Still, is it possible that had there been three men vying there would have emerged a likely winner, so that one may not rule out “the gender thing”? As I observed then, the July 2016 candidates were uncharitably described as lacking in “pedigree” and not being of “high calibre”. It didn’t seem to matter. Venson-Moitoi and Mba Mokuy are back in the ring undeterred, and are vying for the second time at the election due next week during the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government on January 30-31 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Against the two are Kenya’s foreign minister, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, Chad’s foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahamat ,and Senegal’s Bathily Abdoulaye, who is the special UN envoy for Central Africa. To my mind, all the candidates are as distinguished as they are qualified for the job. Nevertheless, speculations have been rife with pundits apportioning votes with reasons why the regional blocs EAC, SADC, ECOWAS, North and Central Africa will or will not be likely to vote for one or the other candidate. For instance, there is the argument making the rounds that it is time the East African region took the position because, of the last four AUC chairpersons, including South Africa’s Nkosazna Dlamini-Zuma, the current chairperson, two have been from West Africa and one from Central Africa. Understandably, therefore, the EAC countries are expected to cast their vote for Amb. Mohamed just as they did for Uganda’s Specioza Kazibwe when she stood last year. And, amid much lobbying and horse-trading, Kenya is said to have persuaded a fair number of other countries to possibly tilt the balance in favour of its candidate. But, so far, it remains mere speculation. There, nevertheless, is much to be said for Amb. Mohamed. The Kenyan Somali lawyer, diplomat and politician has more than proven her mettle shining a spotlight on the region with the role she has played towards the recent hosting of some major and high profile meets as foreign minister of her country. She has been credited with playing a leading role in the machinations that led to the World Trade Organisation being hosted in Nairobi in 2015, including the 2016 Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development, which was being hosted on the continent for the first time. Another meeting credited to her role, amplifying why she should take the AUC mantle, is the Fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14), also hosted in Nairobi in 2016. As a measure of her influence, her portfolio includes having previously served as Chairperson of the International Organization for Migration and the World Trade Organisation’s General Council. She has also served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. For this reason, I, too, am rooting for Amb. Mohamed. And, yet, despite the regional backing, it is a battle she must lodge against the other candidates on an equal footing, for, they, too, are as accomplished on the continental stage. All indications suggest they possess dynamic leadership qualities that that the continent requires. Thus the consolation that no matter who clinches the seat, each in their individual capacity will ably continue to serve the continent. Only that they should be felt more than they previously have in the name of Africa. The AU, afterall, is about one for all and all for one.

Opinions

Even losers’ rich credentials should be felt in Africa